The Cheetah Girls (2003)

Riding the wave of the popularity of early aughts boy and girl bands like ‘Nsync and Destiny’s Child, The Cheetah Girls (and its sequels) contains some of the best music you’ll find in the DCOM universe. Alongside Raven-Symoné and Sabrina Bryan, established pop stars Adrienne Bailón and Keely Williams (members of 3LW) comprise the group, providing significant credibility… and vocal range. Not to mention, the legendary Whitney Houston is a producer on the film.

“Cinderella” is a certified banger, and ironically enough, is about how the Cheetah Girls don’t want to be like the famed Disney princess by waiting around for love. They want to go out and find it themselves. This subversion of the typical Disney tale is appropriate given the diversity of the cast and their characters’ backstories: Galleria (Raven-Symoné) is the daughter of a black woman and Italian man; Chanel (Bailón) is Latina and the daughter of a single mother; Dorinda (Bryan) is white and grew up in a New York City foster home; and Aqua (Williams) is a black girl from Texas.

The authenticity of the dialogue is notable and the singing numbers feel especially spectacular, seeing as they’re shot like 90s/early aughts music videos. The Cheetah Girls is a fun artifact to re-examine and it makes one long for an era when the biggest news story is a dog trapped in an NYC manhole. Don’t worry! Toto is saved by singing, of course.